Veganism as a Moral Baseline

(Please note: VegFest in the UK does not promote veganism as a moral baseline or imperative and, indeed, features speakers who promote speciesism and animal exploitation.)

Introduction to the Abolitionist Approach to Animal Rights

The Problem with Welfare Reforms and Single-Issue Campaigns

Q&A Session on Veganism and the Abolitionist Approach

Vegetarian Summerfest Presentation (July 2015)

(Please note: Vegetarian Summerfest does not promote veganism as a moral baseline or imperative and, indeed, features speakers who promote speciesism and animal exploitation.)

Veganism: The Moral Imperative

This video features Prof. Gary L. Francione’s lecture at the 41st annual Vegetarian Summerfest, which took place from July 8 – 12, 2015 at the Conference Center at Pitt-Johnstown on the University of Pittsburg campus at Johnstown, Pennsylvania. His lecture centered on the Abolitionist Approach to Animal Rights and veganism as a moral imperative.

Professor Francione Delivers Keynote Speech at the 2013 DePaul University College of Law Event, “Animals as Food: The Legal Treatment of Animals in Contemporary Agribusiness and Factory Farming”

Gary L. Francione is Board of Governors Professor, Distinguished Professor of Law & Nicholas deB. Katzenbach Scholar of Law and Philosophy at Rutgers School of Law – Newark. He is one of the most well-known figures in the modern animal rights movement. He is the author/co-author of seven books, most recently with Anna Charlton — Eat Like You Care: An Examination of the Morality of Eating Animals.

October 30, 2013 @ DePaul University College of Law

Professor Francione Delivers Keynote Speech at the 2012 DePaul University College of Law Event, “Examining the Legal Protection of Animals Used in Entertainment”

Gary L. Francione is Board of Governors Professor, Distinguished Professor of Law & Nicholas deB. Katzenbach Scholar of Law and Philosophy at Rutgers School of Law – Newark. He is one of the most well-known figures in the modern animal rights movement. He is the author/co-author of seven books, most recently with Anna Charlton — Eat Like You Care: An Examination of the Morality of Eating Animals.

October 17, 2012 @ DePaul University College of Law

Animal Ethics: Abolition, Regulation or Citizenship?

On Friday, April 11, 2014, Rutgers School of Law–Newark hosted a conference on “Animal Ethics: Abolition, Regulation or Citizenship” at which emerging approaches to acknowledging the moral value of animals were explored in an interdisciplinary setting by some of the foremost scholars in the field.

Theory of Animal Rights

Professor Francione has developed a theory of animal rights that relies only on the sentience of nonhumans and that requires the abolition, and not merely the regulation, of animal exploitation. Professor Francione’s theory, which is developed in Introduction to Animal Rights: Your Child or the Dog? (Temple University Press, 2000), differs considerably from those proposed by others, most notably Peter Singer and Tom Regan.

Animals as Property

Professor Francione argues that the property status of animals renders meaningless animal welfare laws that prohibit the infliction of “unnecessary” suffering and require the “humane” treatment of nonhumans. Professor Francione’s book, Animals, Property, and the Law (Temple University Press, 1995), provided the first legal analysis of the property status of animals and was described by Tom Regan as a “work of unquestionable historic importance.”

Animal Rights vs. Animal Welfare

Professor Francione argues that there are profound theoretical and practical differences between animal rights and animal welfare. He is critical of what he calls “new welfarism,” or the position that incremental improvements in animal welfare will lead to the abolition of animal exploitation. These views are contained in Rain Without Thunder: The Ideology of the Animal Rights Movement (Temple University Press, 1996).

Animal Law

Professor Francione maintains that “animal law” ought to be concerned about the incremental abolition of the property status of nonhumans, and that the tendency of animal lawyers to focus on anticruelty cases, veterinary malpractice, pet custody, and pet trust cases is mistaken.

Professor Francione on Documentary Project, “I’m Vegan”

The primary focus of the interview concerns a comprehensive analysis of the animal movement and the importance of veganism. Additional topics include economic philosophy, our relations with nonhuman animals, and the failures of welfarism.

Professor Francione Presents Animal Rights and Animal Welfare

April 16, 2008 @ Meeting of Animal Advocates, Paris, France

Professor Francione speaks in English and a paraphrase translation is provided by Valéry Giroux, P.D student (philosophy) at the University of Montréal in Canada. The focus of his presentation is the theoretical and practical failure of animal welfare.

Professor Francione Keynotes “Animal Rights: The Last Ten Years”

Professor Francione gave the keynote address at a conference on Animals and the Law held on April 7, 2006 at Duke University School of Law in North Carolina. He focused on how recent welfare reform had failed to shift away from the property paradigm in any significant way.